Page 86 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 86
šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 5–6
Media, Women and Feminism
The media is a “major cultural and ideological force standing in a domi-
nant position with respect to the way in which social relations and polit-
ical problems are defined and the production and transformation of pop-
ular ideologies in the audience addressed” (Hall, 1988, p. 118). Institutions
such as the family, schools and media produce and reproduce hegemon-
ic ideologies whereby the mainstream media adapt ideologies to “com-
mon-sense” attitudes (Vavrus, 2002).
Backmann et al. (2018) believe there are several landmark moments
in the history of researching the relationship between women and the
media. One of the first is the conclusion reached by the sociologist Gaye
Tuchman (1978) that women mostly do not feature in the mediated pub-
lic sphere or are featured as carriers of stereotypical roles of victims, moth-
ers or incompetents, and that the issues of gender equality as well as wom-
en’s questions and issues are not of significant interest to the media. She
calls this state “‘symbolic annihilation’ because by watching women’s rep-
resentation in the media children can’t conclude anything other than the
woman belongs at home” (cf. Lance & Paschyn, 2018). The following land-
mark moment was the work of Laura Mulvey (1975) which speaks about
“women as the object of the male gaze” in movies, where women are most
often featured in a passive role or one unimportant for the screenplay, and
mostly serve as the object of erotic desire of both movie characters and
the audience (see Albertson, 2018, p. 54). Another landmark moment in
media research was the realisation that female identity is not a monolith-
ic construct nor are women a homogeneous group whereby “current ap-
proaches addressing the creation and sustaining of oppressive gender ide-
ologies understand that these not only serve patriarchal interests but also
racist, classist and heterosexist ones” (cf. Lane & Paschyn, 2018, p. 7).
The predominant postfeminist discourse in the media serves as a
commentary on the status of feminism, which appears unnecessary be-
cause all gender issues are either already solved in legislation or solutions
for them are being suggested, that is, individual elements of feminism
have become incorporated in political and institutional life while words
such as “empowerment” or “choice” have been converted into an individ-
ualistic discourse and are in use by the media and popular culture, as well
as institutions serving as a substitution for feminism (McRobbie, 2009).
In accepting the postfeminist values, there is a difference between
western and post-socialist countries; while in western countries, the me-
dia portrayal of politicians through their feminine characteristics has be-
come mainstream, in post-socialist countries with a pronounced national
84
Media, Women and Feminism
The media is a “major cultural and ideological force standing in a domi-
nant position with respect to the way in which social relations and polit-
ical problems are defined and the production and transformation of pop-
ular ideologies in the audience addressed” (Hall, 1988, p. 118). Institutions
such as the family, schools and media produce and reproduce hegemon-
ic ideologies whereby the mainstream media adapt ideologies to “com-
mon-sense” attitudes (Vavrus, 2002).
Backmann et al. (2018) believe there are several landmark moments
in the history of researching the relationship between women and the
media. One of the first is the conclusion reached by the sociologist Gaye
Tuchman (1978) that women mostly do not feature in the mediated pub-
lic sphere or are featured as carriers of stereotypical roles of victims, moth-
ers or incompetents, and that the issues of gender equality as well as wom-
en’s questions and issues are not of significant interest to the media. She
calls this state “‘symbolic annihilation’ because by watching women’s rep-
resentation in the media children can’t conclude anything other than the
woman belongs at home” (cf. Lance & Paschyn, 2018). The following land-
mark moment was the work of Laura Mulvey (1975) which speaks about
“women as the object of the male gaze” in movies, where women are most
often featured in a passive role or one unimportant for the screenplay, and
mostly serve as the object of erotic desire of both movie characters and
the audience (see Albertson, 2018, p. 54). Another landmark moment in
media research was the realisation that female identity is not a monolith-
ic construct nor are women a homogeneous group whereby “current ap-
proaches addressing the creation and sustaining of oppressive gender ide-
ologies understand that these not only serve patriarchal interests but also
racist, classist and heterosexist ones” (cf. Lane & Paschyn, 2018, p. 7).
The predominant postfeminist discourse in the media serves as a
commentary on the status of feminism, which appears unnecessary be-
cause all gender issues are either already solved in legislation or solutions
for them are being suggested, that is, individual elements of feminism
have become incorporated in political and institutional life while words
such as “empowerment” or “choice” have been converted into an individ-
ualistic discourse and are in use by the media and popular culture, as well
as institutions serving as a substitution for feminism (McRobbie, 2009).
In accepting the postfeminist values, there is a difference between
western and post-socialist countries; while in western countries, the me-
dia portrayal of politicians through their feminine characteristics has be-
come mainstream, in post-socialist countries with a pronounced national
84
